HELENA — To say that there's no snow in Montana is very inaccurate. The mountains and water basins are full of snow; many are either normal or above average, contrary to common thought.
One place that is the epitome of this winter's mountain snow is Cooke City. Yes, Cooke City is a snowy place, one of the snowiest in Montana and certainly in the entire United States, but not this snowy.
Cooke City's snow totals are usually around 200 to 250 inches in an average year. But i December alone, 140" of snow fell, a snow lover's dream.
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I'm pretty sure we have the most snow in North America,” said Ernest Miller. “And the avalanche danger is coming down. Things are kind of settling right now, it was spooky for a while, but things are settling.”
Miller and his wife own the Exxon gas station and rent snowmobiles in Cooke City. With the amount of snow that has fallen, that white gold has been great for business.
"It's through the roof. Business is great right now. We're renting lots of sleds. Lots of guys are coming from the Midwest, gloves, hats, helmets."
Besides snowmobiles, backcountry skiing and snowshoing has been phenomenal, but extreme caution should still be used when it comes to avalanche danger.
The December storms with heavy snow and powerful winds resulted in very large avalanches. It was almost too much of a good thing. The avalanche danger has decreased as the snowpack has settled.
There's plenty of winter left, with plenty of snow yet to fall in the mountains and across Montana.
